Reprinted from: public number there is a square space
One of the iconic buildings of Japanese architect Kazuo Shinohara, the "Umbrella House", has been rebuilt in the Vitra Design Park on the banks of the Rhine, and the reconstruction work began in September 2021 in close cooperation with Tokyo Institute of Technology and was completed in the summer of 2022. This is the third classic architectural masterpiece to be rebuilt here, after buckminster Fuller's Dome and Jean Pruvi's Petrol Station.
△ Photo by Dejan Jovanovic
Shinohara Kazuo (1925–2006), along with Kenzo Tange, is considered one of the most important Japanese architects of the second half of the 20th century, and his work later influenced Many Japanese architects, including Toyo Ito, Kazuyo Sejima, and so on.
His designs are mainly residential, and he has established a unique set of architectural views and design methodologies, which are tested by the practice of small residential design, and have become a unique branch in many directions of the Japanese architectural community.
△ Photo by Dejan Jovanovic
The "Umbrella House" was built in 1961 and is a work created during its first style period. In design, Kazuo Shinohara borrowed from traditional Japanese residential and temple architecture, and for the first time tried to abstract and refine some architectural elements and use them in residential buildings. For example, the pyramidal roof form of the "Umbrella House" was previously only used in temple architecture. When building, Shinawara also tended to use simple, inexpensive materials, such as cement fiberboard for the façade.
△ Photo by Dejan Jovanovic
Due to a road construction project in Tokyo, the "Umbrella House" will be demolished. In order to protect the building, the Vitra Design Park decided to acquire it. The residence, which was built using a wooden pile beam method, was carefully demolished in the summer of 2020 and divided into separate sections. The timber structure is made of Japanese cypress, Japanese pine and Oregon pine, securely packed with other components and shipped intact to Weil am Rhine, Germany.
△ Akio Kawasumi, the former "umbrella house" ©of reconstruction
The Dome, rebuilt in 2000, was designed by Richard Buckminster Fuller in collaboration with Thomas C. Howard in 1975 and was used as an auto showroom in Detroit, USA in 1978/79. Influenced by what he experienced during World War II, Fuller designed an improved grid dome system to serve as a home for troops, the wounded, or refugees. The hotels that make up the frame are connected by a system of plug-ins, which facilitate the rapid assembly and disassembly of the building. The principle of construction was patented in the United States in 1954.
△ Dome ©Vitra Campus
Rolf Fehlbaum bought it at an auction in 2000 and rebuilt it in the Samera Design Park in the same year. Today, the building is used as a venue for events and exhibitions.
△ Dome ©Vitra Campus
△ Design sketch ©Vitra Campus
The Petrol Station series was designed by Jean Pruvi and his brother Henri in 1953. The current petrol station, one of only three remaining in the series, was rebuilt in 2003 at the Vitra Design Park.
△ Gas station ©Vitra Campus
The building consists of angular aluminium components and thin plates with bullseye cut-out holes. Load-bearing structures and wall structures are distinguished by color.
△ Gas station ©Vitra Campus
Vitra Design Park
The Vitra Design Park is a symbolic site, a place where architecture is used as a "collectible" in a sense, with assabblage as its aesthetic. Located in the southwestern frontier town of Weil am Rhine, the campus has gathered seven Pritzker Architecture Prize winners since 1981, including seven Pritzker Architecture Prize winners: Gehry, Sizza, Tadao Ando, Zaha, SANAA, Herzog & de Mellon, and Renzo Piano.
Among them, the fire station (1993) was Zaha's first completed work, the Vitra Design Museum (1989) was the first European project designed by Gehry, and the convention center (1993) was the first house completed outside of Japan... These buildings are not insignificant in the career of architects.
Frank Gehry
△ Vitra Factory, Design Museum and Gallery ©Vitra Campus
Alvaro Siza
△ Vitra Factory and Walkway ©Vitra Campus
Tadao Ando
△ Convention Center ©Vitra Campus
Zaha Hadid
Vitra Fire Station ©Vitra Campus
SANAA
△ Vitra Campus ©
Herzog and DeMelon
△ VitraHaus Home Museum and Vitra Pavilion ©Vitra Campus
Renzo Piano
△ "Diogen" (living unit design) ©Vitra Campus